Grieving Anguish
by DragonStorm85
Summary: Song-fic. Even the greatest shinobi, no matter what his strength and prowess, can be brought down by tragedy. Not all stories end happily ever after. And what happens to those who are left behind to pick up the pieces?


**Note: **Inspired when I spent an entire afternoon listening to "Two Beds and A Coffee Machine" by Savage Garden. The words are powerful my friends.

**Pairing(s):** implied SasuTen, implied LeeHina, one-sided NejiTen, one-sided KibaHina, forced NejiHina

**Disclaimer: **Naruto not mine. Song lyrics belong to Savage Garden. Do I own anything of great value? Well, this fanfic is mine.

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_And she takes another step  
Slowly she opens the door  
Check that he is sleeping  
Pick up all the broken glass  
and furniture in the floor  
Been up half the night screaming  
now it's time to get away  
Pack up the kids in the car  
Another bruise to try and hide  
Another alibi to write_

"Come on, Hinata, let's go!" Sasuke whispered urgently, carrying one of the twins in his arms, "He could wake up any minute now."

Looking up from the dresser, the Hyuuga heiress eyed Neji's sleeping form, passed out on the bed from all the sake he had imbibed that night. An empty bottle laid only a step away from his hand hanging over the edge of the bed. Here was the pride of the Hyuuga clan, brought down great tragedy.

"Hinata!" the Uchiha hissed in warning once again.

"Alright, I'm coming," Hinata whispered back.

Taking one last look at her falling cousin, the heiress walked out the door, suitcase in hand. She had done this several times already. So many times she had walked out those same doors, that same house. So many times she had told herself that she would be free. She would no longer be bound to her abusive husband. She would no longer have to suffer beating after beating at his hands. And yet, despite all of her resolve, the heiress always found herself returning.

_Another ditch in the road  
You keep moving  
Another stop sign  
You keep moving on  
And the years go by so fast  
Wonder how I ever made it through_

"Are you ok?" Sasuke asked, still holding the sleeping form of little Keiko.

"I'm fine," Hinata replied quietly, holding little Ren's hand as he sleepily followed, "He passed out before he could do anything serious."

Absentmindedly, she reached up to touch the new cut on her lip and the already forming bruise. Despite the irritation she would feel in the morning, she still looked far better than she had all the other occasions the Hyuuga prodigy had come home inebriated.

"Extra sake to forget what today is," the Uchiha heir said somberly, "Wish we all could drown our sorrows."

Hinata paused in her step for a moment when she realized what the date was. Suddenly Neji's strange behavior today made sense as well as the Uchiha's appearance at her doorstep at eleven o' clock at night. With a look of sympathy, Hinata turned to the Sharingan user.

"It's been five years, Hinata," he mused mostly to himself, "And I can still hear their screams for help."

"Sasuke, what happened wasn't your fault," she said softly, taking Ren into her arms so that he could get some rest, "You couldn't have known it was a trap."

"I was in charge, they trusted me," the Sharingan user snapped solemnly, "And to repay them I led them into a trap that was meant for me."

"Tenten and Lee knew the dangers when they decided to become shinobis of the Hidden Leaf Village," Hinata pointed out.

"The dangers aren't supposed to come from their commanding officer," Sasuke snapped again.

Taken aback by his outburst, the Hyuuga heiress recoiled a little, a natural reaction after living with a volatile Neji for so long. Seeing this, the Uchiha sighed with regret for reminding her of her loveless marriage and broken husband.

"I was a mistake, Sasuke," she whispered meekly, "One that you had no control over."

"A mistake that took the lives of two great shinobis," the Uchiha said with a nod. Then turning to the young Hyuuga maiden, he added, "A mistake that tore this village apart and brought it to its knees."

"Sasuke," Hinata said with dismay.

"A mistake that's condemned you to this horrible existence you call a life," he ended with a somber note.

_And there are children to think of  
Baby's asleep in the backseat  
Wonder how they'll ever make it  
through this living nightmare  
But the mind is an amazing thing  
Full of candy dreams and new toys  
and another cheap hotel  
Two beds and a coffee machine  
But there are groceries to by  
And she knows she'll have to go home_

The two heirs from their respective families quietly came to a stop in front of a small motel. Still holding Keiko in his arms, Sasuke reached into his pocket and pulled out a small piece of paper. Handing it over to Hinata, the heiress found a room number scribbled on it.

"Go, Kiba's waiting for you," the Sharingan user said, "I'll take the twins with me tonight."

Quietly and without much protest, Hinata set little Ren down so that he could sleepily take Sasuke's awaiting hand.

"Thank you again, Sasuke, for all you've done," the Hyuuga girl said gratefully.

"No problem," he responded solemnly, "It's what Tenten would have wanted."

"You really loved her, didn't you?" she asked, faintly smiling at the thought.

"Just as much as you loved Lee," he replied. With a frown he added, "But apparently not as much as Neji."

"The two of them had history," Hinata said thoughtfully, "You don't forget something like that easily."

The two stood there for a moment, thinking back to better days when things weren't in such chaos. A sadness washed over them as they realized that things would never be that way again.

_Another ditch in the road  
You keep moving  
Another stop sign  
You keep moving on  
And the years go by so fast  
Wonder how I ever made it through_

Hinata looked down to the little boy as he held on to his father's hand. His other hand was fisted around the handle of a small kunai Tenten had made for Ren's third birthday, the last worldly possession his mother had ever given to him.

"Be good, Ren," Hinata said as she stooped down to his level, lovingly kissing the young boy on the forehead, "Take care of your sister."

"Yes, Aunt Hinata," the boy replied politely.

With a shy wave, the young Uchiha was off, following behind his somber father and sleeping sister. Hinata stood there outside the hotel watching their retreating forms, a smile of pride evident on her face.

"They're going to be ok, Tenten," the Hyuuga heiress said softly, lifting her head to face the heavens, "You'd be proud of them."

With a tired sigh, the young lady turned to the motel in search of the room that would act as her sanctuary for the night. She paused for a moment ouside the door before lightly knocking on the hard wood. She heard a shuffle in the roon beyond and waited patiently for the door to open for her.

"Hey," Kiba said in greeting, "I was hoping you wouldn't have to come tonight."

The young Inuzuka man had been pacing the length of the room ever since he had rented the space for the night. He had been wishing with all his being that the Hyuuga heiress wouldn't have a need to escape her broken home. Yet, he still stayed up late and waited for her, because Kiba knew in his heart that she would come.

"How could I not come?" Hinata asked rhetorically, entering through the unfamiliar doors, "It's been five years to the day that it all happened and Neji refuses to let me forget about it."

_Another bruise to try and hide  
Another alibi to write  
Another lonely highway in the black of night  
But there's hope in the darkness  
You know you're gonna make it_

"Where are the twins," Kiba asked, slightly alarmed when he saw that Keiko and Ren weren't with her.

"They're with their father," the heiress replied softly, taking a much needed seat on the bed, "Even though I know Neji would never hurt them, I thought it was only right that Sasuke would have them today."

"How's the Uchiha doing, anyways?" the dog-lover asked curiously.

"He lost the one person he loved more than anything in this world," she stated solemnly, "How do you think he is?"

"Right," Kiba said flatly, "Stupid question."

The heiress let out a tired sigh, weary with the night's events. Unconsciously, she began rubbing the purple bruise that was forming on her wrists, something that she had started to do in order to comfort herself.

"He still blames himself," she continued softly, "I guess some people aren't meant to be whole."

"Is that Neji's excuse for the way he's been acting?" the Inuzuka asked bitterly.

"It's not his fault," Hinata protested, "He loved her, Kiba, and when she died - "

"That still gives him no right to take it out on you," he snapped, "You are his wife after all."

"You forget, the marriage was arranged by the clan," the Hyuuga heiress pointed out, "He had no choice in choosing me."

"But still, to constantly beat you for not being Tenten," the dog-lover snapped again, "And then to keep Ren and Keiko from their father."

"Please understand," Hinata whispered, holding back her tears as best she could, "The pain of losing someone you care so deeply for…it changes you."

The longing in her voice didn't go unnoticed by Kiba. With a saddened sigh of his own, the Inuzuka pulled the young Hyuuga into a tight embrace. It had finally dawned on him how difficult this day was for her as well.

"I would give anything to bring Lee back for you," he whispered in her ear, "To see you smile again."

Quiet sobs could be heard as her body shook with grief. Tightening his hold on her, Hinata pressed against him willingly as she finally allowed herself to express the emotions that had always remained suppressed for the sake of the others.

"What you're doing now is enough," she finally managed to say, her voice muffled in the folds of his shirt "Thank you, Kiba."

"Anytime," he responded, comfortingly stroking her soft hair, "I'll always be here for you."

"Things are going to be ok, right?" she asked, pulling away from him enough to look up into his eyes.

"Yeah," Kiba replied half-heartedly, pulling her back into his embrace once more so that she couldn't see the doubt in his eyes, "Everything will work out in the end."

_Another ditch in the road  
Keep moving  
Another stop sign  
You keep moving on  
And the years go by so fast  
Silent fortress built to last  
Wonder how I ever made it _

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-tear-


End file.
